Political parties seek voters' opinion

By B.J. Pollock

Published 4:40 pm, Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Political signs touting Republican and Democratic candidates for the May 29 primary have been dotting the landscape throughout Fort Bend County for months, but most people may not know about propositions and referendums on the party ballots as well.

Republicans can make their voices heard on everything from redistricting to Obamacare, and Democrats can do likewise with issues such as the legalization of gambling and in-state college tuition rates for students who don't have legal status.

Local chapters of both parties will share results of the votes with their parties at the state level, giving them some insight into what's important to voters.

Republican propositions

Those who vote in the Republican primary will find five propositions.

Proposition 1, titled "School Choice," reads, "The state should fund education by allowing dollars to follow the child instead of the bureaucracy, through a program which allows parents the freedom to choose their child's school, public or private, while also saving significant tax dollars."

Mike Gibson, newly-appointed chairman of the Fort Bend Republican Party, said some money is already available for parents who want their children to attend a different public school from the one they're zoned to attend, but this proposition would expand that choice to private schools as well.

"The state would establish a particular amount of money of the parents wanted to move that child to a public or private school," he said.

Proposition 2, "Repealing Obamacare," states, "Congress should immediately repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (otherwise known as Obamacare) and reject the rationing of health care by government or the intrusion by government into the doctor-patient relationship."

Gibson said Obamacare "goes against what most Republicans feel is the 10th Amendment," which states that powers not granted to the federal government or prohibited to the states by the U.S. Constitution are reserved to the states or the people.

Obamacare, said Gibson, "oversteps that, particularly with the rights of states."

"Actually, we're quite hopeful that in June, the Supreme Court will overturn it," he added.

Proposition 3, "Public Prayer," asserts, "Government should be prohibited from restricting the content of public prayer."

"The Supreme Court has already ruled that an individual student may pray at event like a football game or something of that nature, if he or she feels compelled to; but in recent situations we've seen where the administration tries to restrict what they can say," Gibson explained. "It's a matter of free speech."

Proposition 4, "Balanced Budget/Controlled Government Growth," states, "Out-of-control spending should be stopped at all levels of federal and state government through constitutional amendments limiting an increase in government spending to the combined increase of population and inflation, requiring voter approval."

Gibson said that is already the case at the state level in Texas, but needs to be extended to the federal level as well.

"If inflation is fairly steady and the population isn't increasing, then there shouldn't be any increase in the budget except for the 1 percent or 2 percent increase for inflation," Gibson said.

Proposition 5, "Redistricting," says, "The Texas Legislature should redraw the court-imposed lines for Congress and state legislative districts in its upcoming session in order to remedy inequities."

Simply put, said Gibson, "That's basically telling the Legislature to do their job."

He said the results of the votes on the propositions will be "forwarded to our Republican state and federal legislators, and also to the Resolution Committee at the state convention, to help them understand how the people feel. The party should mirror that."

Steve Brown, chairman of the Fort Bend County Democratic Party, said the referendums on the primary ballot are "just a way to express support for different items and issues that could eventually find a way to our respective platforms."

Brown is a member of his party's Platform Committee, and said it gives that group an indication of the issues that interest Democrats statewide.

"A lot of these ideas have been floated at the senatorial meetings, and the ones that have state support will be voted to the state convention," he said of the referendums.

The Democratic state convention will be in Houston June 7-9.

Referendum 1 states, "Any graduate of a Texas high school, who has lived in the state for at least three years and lived here continuously for the last year, should be eligible for in-state tuition at state supported colleges and universities and given the opportunity to earn legal status through a higher education or military service."

"That's the DREAM Act," Brown said. "It's what's been debated in D.C. for some time now, about whether or not to allow kids who don't have legal status to receive in-state tuition at a state college or university."

The DREAM Act is an acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, legislation first proposed in the Senate in 2001.

Referendum 2 reads, "Because a college education is increasingly necessary for jobs that allow our citizens to achieve middle-class lifestyles and become the entrepreneurs who create jobs that our economy relies on, we call on the Texas Legislature to fund colleges and universities such that tuition and fees can be affordable to all Texans.

"That's us saying that deregulating tuitions was a bad idea," he explained.

The Texas Legislature deregulated tuition rates in 2007, he said. "Rates have continued to balloon ever since."

Referendum 3 asks, "Should the Texas Legislature allow the people of Texas to vote to legalize casino gambling with all funds generated being used only for education?"

Brown said although the idea has been kicked around by elected officials in Texas for years, "I don't think how the money would be allocated has ever come to any kind of solid consensus."

"Through the years," he said, "this thing has been presented in the last three or so sessions."